Team GRDA
by danjj
Summary: A new team of Hunters enroll into Beacon Academy, each of them motivated by different goals. What motivates them to throw away the chance to live a normal and safe life to instead put in on the life everyday for the rest of their life? Using OCs. First fanfic, so any constructive advice is much appreciated.
1. Prologue

Prologue

He was already awake before his mum had come into the room to wake him up, but he didn't feel like getting up yet.

"You'll be late," his mother said. Gabriel muttered something from under the sheets. "What did you say?"

"Give me a minute," Gabe said, pulling his blanket tighter around himself. He heard his mum sigh just before the door closed shut just a little louder than he would like. He pulled himself up straight.

His room was mostly empty as most of his stuff was packed and ready to go. Both his mum and his immediate younger sister, Karen wouldn't let him sleep until he packed.

"I'll pack tomorrow morning," he had whined.

"You won't have time," they had scolded him in unison.

I'll miss this room, he thought as he headed for a shower.

* * *

><p>"Mum says come down for breakfast," said Anna who had came into the room abruptly. Thankfully, Gabe had just finished pulling on his pants.<p>

"Didn't I tell you to knock before coming in?"

"Sorry," she replied sheepishly, the look on her face made it clear she didn't mean it. Was Karen this playful when she was Anna's age? Gabe wondered. Probably not. His two younger sisters, seven years apart, weren't much like each other he thought.

"I'll be down in a minute," he said to her. Nodding her head, Anna was out of the room and down the stairs in no time.

* * *

><p>Downstairs, Karen was already eating breakfast. Dropping his bags, Gabe walked to join her. "Morning."<p>

Karen nodded in reply, eating her toast silently.

"It'll be quiet without you around Gabriel," said their mum. He didn't know what to say, so he just continued eating.

"Looks like you'll have to find someone else to help with carrying the groceries," he joked without looking up.

"Guess I will," she replied before walking off, summoned by the crying of the youngest member of the family.

"Make sure you take care of Mum, okay?"

"You don't have to tell me," Karen replied.

"Guess I was worrying for nothing." The two of them ate in silence. "Thanks for helping me pack last night."

"Help? I did everything. If I wasn't around, you'd be packing right now."

"Fine fine. Thanks for packing for me."

"Shouldn't you get going?" Karen asked, looking at the watch. "I'm sure Diana's already waiting for you.

"She can wait a little longer."

"No wonder you're single. You don't know how to treat a lady."

"Why do I have to listen to a 14 year old about how to treat a lady?" Gabe took a glance at the clock hanging on the wall. "In any case, guess you're right. I'll eat on the go." He got up and headed for the door, bags in hand.

"Well Mum. Time for me to go I guess," he said to his mum who was standing by the door.

"Take care of yourself."

"I will."

"Make sure to eat properly."

"Sure."

"Take care of Diana as well, okay?"

Gabe nodded.

"Then, there's not much left is there? Get going now."

"Bye Mum," Gabe said, stepping out of the house. He walked facing straight ahead, not turning back.

He didn't want to see his mother cry.

* * *

><p>"You're late."<p>

"You're early."

"Everyone else is already here. You're the only one who just got here."

"You're all early," Gabriel said, putting down his bags. Diana pouted for a brief moment, before the grin she normally had found its way back to her face.

They were only two out of dozens of people who had gathered here today, each with the same thing in mind.

"It's finally the day, isn't it?" she asked.

"Guess so." As if on cue, the airship that would be carrying them came into sight in the distance. "Why do we have to fly?"

"It'll be fine. That thing looks so big, you probably won't even realise you're flying."

"Never mind," he said. "You ready?" Gabe found himself asking, although the answer was obvious. From the energy that seemed to radiate from her to the sight of her weapon, the Gabe christened 'bow-blade' strapped to her back, every inch of her looked unable to contain her excitement.

Gabe was not good with names, but he thought the name was apt. As the name implied, it was a fusion of a bow and blades. There was a shielded grip for her to hold that extended into two blades on either side of the handle. The grip also acted as the grip for the bow, which extended in parallel just behind the blades.

Sometimes, when Gabe saw the bow-blade, he felt like his own weapon of choice was unimpressive. A simple handgun modified for extended magazines. But each time doubt crept in, he just thought back to how his simple weapon had never failed him once.

"Ready as I can be," Diana replied.

"Your bow-blade?"

"She's ready too," she said while patting her weapon gently. "And don't call her that. It's not cute."

"Not like you have a better name for it."

"I'll come up with a name one day."

"You've been saying that for how long now? And look, I'm not late. The plane hasn't even landed yet." Again, Diana's face twisted with annoyance for just the briefest moment before immediately going back to her usual, smiling self.

"What took you so long anyway?"

"The usual. Couldn't wake up, overly attached younger sister, emotional mother," Gabe replied. "Standard stuff."

"How was your mum?"

"She'll be fine. Karen and Anna are there for her. And there's William too. They won't miss me for long."

A simple glance at Diane would tell anyone that she didn't really belief what he said, but she kept quiet. "How were your parents?"

"They... they still don't look all that excited about the idea," she admitted. "But I've made up my mind. I'm doing this."

How Diane's parents felt made sense to Gabe. He knew most that his own family most probably felt the same way. After all, the moment their training started, their lives could be cut short at any time.

"Too late to change our minds now," Gabe said. "And I don't I can see either of us doing anything other than this." Diane nodded.

"This is the moment we've been waiting for," Diane added. "This is going to be exciting." The idea of putting his life on the line constantly wasn't Gabriel's ideal idea of excitement, but he nodded anyway. He had made up his mind much earlier as well. He was going to do this.

"What are we waiting for?" Gabe asked as he picked up his bags, joining the queue to board the now docked airship. "Why do we have to fly though?" he asked with a sigh.

All sorts of people were in the queue with them, of all colours and sizes. Boys and girls, humans and faunus, all armed with some sort of fancy weapon that made Gabe's handgun look like a toy.

Everyone here, for whatever reason, was here for the same reason.

"Beacon Academy, here we come!" cheered Diana.

The reason was simple.

"I am going to be a hunter."


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Alex checked himself in the mirror for the umpteenth time. A teen on the verge of adulthood, his blonde hair combed neatly to the left stared back at him. His cleanly shaven face gave him a look of youthful, confident enthusiasm.

He wasn't the largest of people, but he was confident of his strength. On his hip he wore his faithful sword, sheathed safely in its scabbard. Its blade was slightly longer than his arm and its hilt was simple. A simple, no nonsense guard and pommel on either side of a two handed grip. Like a nervous boy on a first date, he wanted to make sure he looked perfect.

Appearances matter in making a first impression, he was told and he planned on finding out if it works. He combed his hair once again with his hand. He was nervous. Who wouldn't be?

Alex eventually stepped out of the men's room and joined the crowd of people gathered around a large screen showing the news. An update on an infamous criminal or something similar.

Not all were watching the news of course. Quite a few were enjoying a bird's eye view of Vale that they otherwise might not have the opportunity to enjoy. Over in a corner, he saw a girl trying to comfort her friend down.

"It's going to be fine, Gabe. Just… just don't look down," he heard the girl say.

"You know it's not the height that's the problem, right?" replied the guy. Deciding to leave the two alone, he decided to watch the news to waste time.

"Is it just me, or is the only news we get nowadays is about some crime being committed somewhere?" someone asked from behind him. It took Alex a while to realise it was directed at him.

"Yeah," he replied without turning around. "It's been kind of depressing to watch the news recently."

"Good thing for us anyway."

Caught by surprised by what he said, Alex turned to face his conversation partner to find an unkempt teen, slightly shorter than himself but otherwise of similar build to himself. The contrast in how they looked after their own appearances couldn't be any more blatant.

"Why'd you say that?" Alex asked.

"Because otherwise, we wouldn't have a job." The simple, honest truth in his answer caught Alex off-guard.

"That's a… blunt way to put it," Alex managed to say. "I'm sorry, but I never caught your name."

"Roy," came the curt response. "Roy Mason." He extended a hand which Alex shook after a moment's pause.

"Alex," he introduced himself. "Alexander Farr." Before they could exchange any more words, a roar of noise erupted from the crowd around them. Everyone crowded around whichever window was closest to them. Both Alex and Roy found themselves doing the same.

"Would you look at that," Roy said, clearly enjoying the view.

Alex wasn't paying attention. He was too captivated, awestruck to pay any attention to Roy. With his face practically pressed up against the glass, Alex couldn't contain his excitement. It was getting closer and closer with each passing moment.

"Beacon Academy," he said.

* * *

><p>"Aaaand breath." Gabe matched his words with a deep breath of fresh air. They were among the first to disembark from the airship after it landed but while the other students made their way immediately into the academy, Gabe and Diana stepped to the side of the crowd for a breather.<p>

"You okay now Gabe?" she asked.

"Think so," he replied. Only a few students still loitered around outside making the large courtyard feel even larger. "Feels good to be on solid land again."

"If you're okay now, let's get going," Diana said, her concern turning into enthusiasm. "Come on, come on, come on."

Unable to resist her spirit, Gabe picked up his bags and fell into step next to her as they made their way into the academy. Eventually, they entered a large auditorium, joining their fellow Hunter candidates.

"Great, we're going to have to stand up while listening to some boring speech? Wonderful," Gabe said when he noted a lack of seating. "Just when I thought I could catch forty winks." He caught a blonde guy next to him giving him a toxic look but he paid him no heed.

"You can't be serious."

"Weren't you the one who would sleep through every class?" Before the two of them could start arguing however, two people, a man and a woman, stepped on stage.

"Headmaster Ozpin and Glynda Goodwitch," Gabe heard the blonde say.

"Hooray. It's speech time," Gabe said with fake enthusiasm.

* * *

><p>Roy wandered out somewhere as soon as the speech was over. Alex didn't mind being by himself for now. He didn't know what to think of Roy. On one hand, he was accepted into Beacon, just like he himself was, so Roy must have the potential to be a Hunter.<p>

However, Alex couldn't bring himself to accept Roy's messy self-presentation. To Alex, it was important to look the part. Hunters were supposed to be symbols of hope and heroism were they not? That's what they were to him.

He stopped and chatted for a while with the few familiar faces he knew. Everyone was talking about the same thing. How would their teams be decided?

Rumours suggested everything from lottery to picking your own teammates to being assigned a team by the academy. Alex didn't mind the method, as long as he got a team he could rely on and that in that team, he himself would not wind up being a dead weight.

He would not let himself be a dead weight, he told himself. People don't tell stories on useless people.

* * *

><p>Gabe couldn't sleep. Sure it was still early, but Gabe had been trying to sleep for a while now. Maybe it was the noise in the large, shared dormitory he was in. Some of the other freshmen were horsing around. Even Diana had disappeared somewhere.<p>

The look of disappointment on her face when he said he wasn't in the mood to wander around. Even though he had said that to her earlier, he felt like taking a walk now thanks to his inability to sleep.

"I hope I don't run into her," he said to himself as he drifter around random empty corridors with a tinge of guilt. He eventually found himself on a balcony where the cool night air greeted him.

"Is that… smoke?" he asked when he smelled something weird.

"Sorry," he heard someone say from his right. Turning around he saw someone sitting on the railing smoking a cigarette. "Are you sure you should be smoking here?" Gabe asked cautiously.

"Don't think so. But I can't sleep unless I had a smoke," came the reply. "No need to be so stiff. I'm a newbie like you."

"Don't blame me if you get kicked out before you even start."

"Don't worry. I won't. Anyway, are you sure you should be up here? This place is kind of high up you know?"

"Say what now?"

"Don't be shy. You were the one on the airship trying his hardest to not look afraid."

Gabe sighed. "It's not the height that's the problem." To prove his point, he leaned over the railing as far as he felt safe. "It's the whole being on an airship thing."

"I see," was the replied. He took a long drag of his cigarette before flicking it off the railing. "Name's Roy by the way," he introduced himself as he dismounted. "Roy Mason."

"Gabriel Cain," Gabe replied extending his hand which Roy promptly shook.

"Hope we get along while we're still alive," Roy said. "I'll be heading back now. See you around."

Gabe was left alone on the balcony as Roy re-entered the building. "While we're still alive huh? Guess I'm not the only pessimist here." He looked to over where his house would more or less be. "Wonder if they're already asleep."

"Missing home already?" Gabe jumped when he heard a voice from right behind his ear.

"Would you not sneak up on me like that?" Gabe said to Diana after recovering from the jump.

"It's payback."

"For what?"

"For taking a walk after telling me you didn't want to."

"That's because I didn't want be walking around with you," Gabe replied. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I changed my mind when I couldn't sleep," he found himself apologising when Diana started pouting again.

"Apology accepted," she said with her usual vigour just before she had a long drawn out yawn. "Let's get to sleep. Long day ahead." They walked back side by side.

"Long day ahead," Gabe agreed.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Mostly everyone was awake early the next morning. Alex was early even compared to everyone else. He was excited and nervous and he was trying his best to contain it. He had finished his breakfast by the time the others started coming in.

"Alex, you're up early." It was one of his older friends from their previous academy. "Although I'm not entirely surprised." He sat down with a tray of food in front of Alex. Both of them were very similar physically to one another, from the build of their bodies to the colour of their hair.

At a glance, one could think they were siblings, maybe not twins but related in some way at the very least. On closer inspection, one would see that Noel had much sharper features.

"Good morning Noel. Excited for today?" Alex didn't particularly like Noel very much, but he still counted him amongst the people he could consider a friend.

"Of course. I can't wait." Noel always seemed to be brimming with confidence. "This should be a challenge worthy of my skills." Alex knew the confidence was not misguided. Noel was more than capable a fighter.

"Want to go warm up after breakfast? I haven't sparred with you in ages."

"We sparred two weeks ago," Alex replied. "And no thanks, I want to stay focused on whatever they plan on throwing our way." Their sparring sessions would tend to leave both of them exhausted. Alex wanted to impress the Academy as soon as he could. He didn't want to waste his energy.

"Ah. Maybe you're right." Noel shifted his focus to his breakfast as Alex tried his best not to look at any form of time telling device. He knew he would only get more nervous as it closer to time.

* * *

><p>Gabe spent most of the time in the armoury admiring the weapons his fellow initiates were armed with. He had not much else to do as his own armament was simple. All he had to do was slip his gun into its holster that he wore on his right side and slip the knife he carried as an emergency backup into the sheath on the other.<p>

In truth, he was trying to calm his nerves.

No matter who you were, being on the verge of the initiation into Beacon Academy would make you anxious, and Gabe was no different. Diana was next to him setting up her quiver of arrows.

"What should I take with me today," she hummed to herself in a playful singsong manner. Soon after she started using her bow-blade, she began developing custom arrows to use with it. Some were enhanced with Dust. Others with more conventional methods such as blunt noise making arrows she used to employ to distract guards while sneaking out of campus. Most of her arrows were normal arrows, but when fired by her bow carried a much more powerful punch than one would expect.

"No need to look hard for interesting weapons," Gabe admitted to himself. "Diana's is plenty."

Seeing all these fancy weapons used to make him feel much worse, but that was when he first started his training. Initially in awe of these weapons, he eventually proved time and time again that sometimes, the simplest things can beat the most amazing of weapons.

"You done yet?" he turned to ask Diana only to find she was already at the door, waving for him to hurry. "Come to think of it, where's Roy?" he asked himself.

* * *

><p>By the time Roy made it to the armoury, it was mostly empty. He was late and he knew it. It was not something he had planned to do knowing that he was in an academy where the instructors were all more than capable when it comes to combat. "I wonder. Do punishments here include getting your ass handed to you by an instructor?"<p>

He scurried over to his locker and quickly put on his armament. He strapped on the battered old pair of steel greaves that had helped him in many a fight before grabbing his main weapons. His trusty pair of tonfas each meticulously well maintained. Inside each tonfa ran a gun barrel that fired out of the front, short end of the tonfa.

The grips doubled as magazines which made it quite impractical to reload in the middle of a fight, but Roy liked the extra firepower his guns afforded him. Doubly so when his opponent didn't know there were even guns hidden in his weapons. He was confident enough to rely on just his martial prowess with his tonfas, but he knew sometimes having a gun or two would do him good.

As soon as he strapped on a few extra magazines of ammo, he dashed out the door.

* * *

><p>"You're early," Roy said to Gabe as he took up the spot next to him.<p>

"You're late," Gabe replied. They were with the rest of the fresh trainees on a cliff overlooking a forest. Diana was to his other side, raring to go. Gabe tried his best not to notice Roy's interest in her.

"So… who's she? I mean, you're always with her, right? She your girlfriend or something like that?" Roy's voice tone was a teasing one which irritated Gabe slightly.

"She's… a friend of mine," Gabe replied. Diana, overhearing this, leapt in to join the conversation.

"Ooooh… you're the one from last night!" she said excitedly.

"Diana, this is Roy. Roy, Diana." Gabe did the job of introducing the two reluctantly.

"Well hello there Diana," Roy said with a theatrical bow. "Pleasure to meet you."

"Great, wonderful introduction," Gabe said but no one was paying him any attention.

"Now, why would a pretty girl like you be doing something as dangerous as this? Surely you could find something more comfortable like being a model?" Roy said.

"I dunno about whether I'm pretty or anything like that," Diana began. "But I know for sure nothing can be as fun as this."

"Come again?" Roy was perplexed while Gabe just looked away.

"Nothing comes close to being as fun as kicking ass and the adrenaline rush of fighting, right?"

"O… kay then." Roy was momentarily caught off guard but he regained his composure. "It seems you are more than just a simple beauty."

"How can he say all that with such a straight face?" Gabe murmured to himself before cutting in between the two.

"So, what do you guys think we're doing here?" he asked. "And more importantly, what exactly are those… square thingies on the ground?"

Roy crouched next to one of them and prodded it with his finger as he examined it. "Looks like a launch pad or something to me." Gabe quickly put two and two together.

"We're going to get launched into the forest to start things off." Gabe was not as surprised as he was expecting himself to be.

"Looks like it."

"Really? Great! I've always wanted to go skydiving." Diana somehow managed to seem even more excited than she was already.

"You are correct," said a voice. The three of them turned to find Headmaster Ozpin behind them with a cup of coffee in hand. "Although, I do not believe that it would be all that difficult to deduce." He walked away without a glance back.

"Look on the bright side," Roy began. "It's better than being launched out of a cannon."

Ozpin paused when he heard those words. "That would not be a bad idea," they heard him say before he continued walking.

"I feel so sorry for the next generation of students here," Gabe said.

"Why? Getting shot out of a cannon sounds fun too."

"Unlike you, most students probably have more wires connected than loose ones in their brains."

* * *

><p>The objectives were simple. Survive the land, find a teammate, make your way to find some treasure and make your way back. There will be creatures and beasts and all other manner of things waiting.<p>

As they were unnecessarily reminded, death was a possibility here.

Even though he didn't want to hear it, Gabe knew what being a Hunter entailed. He knew all about it when he made the decision.

Diana came here for the thrill. She needed her fix of action. The time she spent tinkering with her weapon between graduation and induction into Beacon did nothing to quench her thirst for adrenaline.

Roy accepted it with no complaints as he readied himself on his launch pad. He still had that playful air around him, his body relaxed but his eyes were focused on the task at hand.

One by one, students were catapulted into the forest.

As it grew closer and closer to his turn, Alex's nerves started to really get to him.

He wasn't entirely sure how he planned to land, but he was confident he could come up with something mid-flight. He rested a hand on each of his sword's grips, the familiar feel calming him a little.

"It's go time then," he said to himself just before he was launched into the air.


End file.
